InterChange is a growing, united, and diverse group of community-based peacebuilders around the world who share knowledge, collaborate on educational and research projects, and support one another with the aim of nurturing and developing dynamic, durable and positive peace.

ToolKit For Peacebuilders – Submissions

I am writing to tell you about an exciting project that InterChange is developing that I hope you’ll want to be part of: a Toolkit for Peacebuilders.

Background and description

The idea for the project isn’t new. We first proposed it at our symposium in Rwanda in 2007 and further developed the idea at the Facilitators’ training workshop in Kenya in 2010.

Our plan is to create an on-line resource for InterChange members to share peacebuilding models, tools and ideas they have found useful. The intention is not to create an exhaustive list of resources, but rather to build our network of peacebuilders by sharing things we have personally found useful.

We intend to offer the toolkit in a members-only section of the InterChange website. The toolkit will likely be an online resource with a searchable function so you can easily find what you’re looking for.

The importance of the project

We see the Toolkit for Peacebuilders as being key to develop the Vision and Mission of InterChange, which are:

Our Vision:

Community-based peacebuilders around the world sharing knowledge and supporting one another to nurture and develop dynamic, durable peace

Our Mission:

To foster and make visible community-based peacebuilding around the world

The Toolkit is also an integral part of the strategic planning process InterChange has initiated and that you’ve just heard a bit about.

How to participate in the Toolkit project

Fill in and send back the Toolkit Form with your description of resources you have found useful and think that others would as well. They may be things you and/or your group have developed or they may be resources from elsewhere, but the key issue is that you have personally used the resources and found them useful. You’ll be listed as the contact for the resource, and we see the project as being very helpful in building the InterChange network.

As you’ll see, the Toolkit Form has 7 different categories, and for each resource, we ask that you identify where you think the resource fits best. You may find that it fits under more than one heading—and that’s fine! If you can’t decide what the category is, don’t worry—we’ll figure it out.

If you have more than one resource to contribute, please use a separate form for each one.

The form is a Word document, so you can use more than the space provided below, but please keep your description brief. We’d like to have short, succinct listings about each resource, with information about how people can find out more. Please include information on how people can contact you, and if possible, send us an illustration or photo of the resource or how you are using it.

What happens next?

The project committee will review all the submissions and decide if they fit into the Toolkit. The submissions will be edited for length and clarity, if necessary, and the committee might get back to you with questions. The committee is also working on designing the Toolkit and developing the logistics of the members-only website.

And one more benefit…

We believe that sharing resources useful to peacebuilders offers its own reward, but we have an extra incentive. Everyone who has a resource accepted for the Toolkit will be offered free membership to InterChange for a year. (We’ll let you know more about membership soon, as part of the strategic planning).

Please contact us if you have questions or ideas, and of course, we look forward to receiving your submissions to the Toolkit. We can be reached at community@interchange4peace.org.